REPUBLIC ACT 8293

AN ACT PRESCRIBING THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY CODE AND

ESTABLISHING THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE, PROVIDING FOR ITS
POWERS AND FUNCTIONS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Section 2: Declaration of State Policy. The State recognizes that an effective intellectual and
industrial property system is vital to the development of domestic and creative activity, facilitates
transfer of technology, attracts foreign investments, and ensures market access for our products. It shall
protect and secure the exclusive rights of scientists, inventors, artists and other gifted citizens to their
intellectual property and creations, particularly when beneficial to the people, for such periods as
provided in this Act.

Section 3: International Conventions and Reciprocity. Any person who is a national or who
is domiciled or has a real and effective industrial establishment in a country which is a party to any
convention, treaty or agreement relating to intellectual property rights or the repression of unfair
competition, to which the Philippines is also a party, or extends reciprocal rights to nationals of the
Philippines by law, shall be entitled to benefits to the extent necessary to give effect to any provision of
such convention, treaty or reciprocal law, in addition to the rights to which any owner of an intellectual
property right is otherwise entitled by this Act.
Section 121: Definitions. As used in Part III, the following terms have the following meanings:
121.1. "Mark" means any visible sign capable of distinguishing the goods (trademark) or services
(service mark) of an enterprise and shall include a stamped or marked container of goods; (Sec.
38, R.A. No. 166a)
121.2. "Collective mark" means any visible sign designated as such in the application for
registration and capable of distinguishing the origin or any other common characteristic,
including the quality of goods or services of different enterprises which use the sign under the
control of the registered owner of the collective mark; (Sec. 40, R.A. No. 166a)
121.3. "Trade name" means the name or designation identifying or distinguishing an enterprise;
(Sec. 38, R.A. No. 166a)
121.4. "Bureau" means the Bureau of Trademarks;
121.5. "Director" means the Director of Trademarks;
121.6. "Regulations" means the Rules of Practice in Trademarks and Service Marks formulated
by the Director of Trademarks and approved by the Director General; and
121.7. "Examiner" means the trademark examiner. (Sec. 38, R.A. No. 166a)

Section 122: How Marks are Acquired. The rights in a mark shall be acquired through
registration made validly in accordance with the provisions of this law. (Sec. 2-A, R.A. No. 166a)
Section 123: Registrability.
123.1. A mark cannot be registered if it:
a. Consists of immoral, deceptive or scandalous matter, or matter which may disparage or falsely
suggest a connection with persons, living or dead, institutions, beliefs, or national symbols, or
bring them into contempt or disrepute;
b. Consists of the flag or coat of arms or other insignia of the Philippines or any of its political
subdivisions, or of any foreign nation, or any simulation thereof;
c. Consists of a name, portrait or signature identifying a particular living individual except by his
written consent, or the name, signature, or portrait of a deceased President of the Philippines,
during the life of his widow, if any, except by written consent of the widow;
d. Is identical with a registered mark belonging to a different proprietor or a mark with an earlier
filing or priority date, in respect of: cd
i. The same goods or services, or
ii. Closely related goods or services, or
iii. If it nearly resembles such a mark as to be likely to deceive or cause confusion;
e. Is identical with, or confusingly similar to, or constitutes a translation of a mark which is
considered by the competent authority of the Philippines to be well-known internationally and
in the Philippines, whether or not it is registered here, as being already the mark of a person
other than the applicant for registration, and used for identical or similar goods or services:
Provided, that in determining whether a mark is well-known, account shall be taken of the
knowledge of the relevant sector of the public, rather than of the public at large, including
knowledge in the Philippines which has been obtained as a result of the promotion of the mark;
f. Is identical with, or confusingly similar to, or constitutes a translation of a mark considered
well-known in accordance with the preceding paragraph, which is registered in the Philippines
with respect to goods or services which are not similar to those with respect to which registration
is applied for: Provided, That use of the mark in relation to those goods or services would indicate
a connection between those goods or services, and the owner of the registered mark: Provided
further, That the interests of the owner of the registered mark are likely to be damaged by such
use;
g. Is likely to mislead the public, particularly as to the nature, quality, characteristics or
geographical origin of the goods or services;
h. Consists exclusively of signs that are generic for the goods or services that they seek to identify;
i. Consists exclusively of signs or of indications that have become customary or usual to designate
the goods or services in everyday language or in bona fide and established trade practice;
j. Consists exclusively of signs or of indications that may serve in trade to designate the kind,
quality, quantity, intended purpose, value, geographical origin, time or production of the goods
or rendering of the services, or other characteristics of the goods or services;
k. Consists of shapes that may be necessitated by technical factors or by the nature of the goods
themselves or factors that affect their intrinsic value;
l. Consists of color alone, unless defined by a given form; or
 m. Is contrary to public order or morality.
123.2. As regards signs or devices mentioned in paragraphs (j), (k), and (l), nothing shall prevent the
registration of any such sign or device which has become distinctive in relation to the goods for which
registration is requested as a result of the use that have been made of it in commerce in the Philippines.
The Office may accept as prima facie evidence that the mark has become distinctive, as used in
connection with the applicant's goods or services in commerce, proof of substantially exclusive and
continuous use thereof by the applicant in commerce in the Philippines for five (5) years before the date
on which the claim of distinctiveness is made.
123.3. The nature of the goods to which the mark is applied will not constitute an obstacle to
registration. (Sec. 4, R.A. No. 166a)